AUGUST 26, 1938

HYDE PARK, Thursday—Mrs. Scheider and I had a most beautiful drive yesterday over to Connecticut
to picnic with Mr. and Mrs. George Bye. These last few days have a real autumn tang
in the air and when we came home at about 6:00 o'clock, the Catskill Mountains were
outlined clearly against a bright blue sky with the wind blowing the white scudding
clouds. Beautiful as it was, I sighed, for the katydids are right, the frost is not
far away.

My husband had telephoned me that they were going to take advantage of the beautiful
weather and picnic for supper on top of the hill, so I dashed up there to join them
for a little while and then back to my cottage where my little friend, Mayris Chaney the dancer, had arrived to have late
supper and spend a couple of hours. She returned to New York last night and left for
an engagement in Chicago today.

I returned home about 10:30 to find that everyone had gone to bed, but the President
was still awake so we sat in his room and discussed many things from road improvement
and the theory of preventing snowdrifts on our driveway, to the international situation.

This morning, my nephew, Daniel Roosevelt, let me read some of the things he has written
on his experiences in Spain. I think they are interesting because the first impressions
of youth are more clear-cut and vivid than is possible with greater experience. He
and I had breakfast alone and he started off for New York City with the promise that
he would return tomorrow.

I went at once to my cottage and at 10:30 Mrs. Ellen Woodward and four of her regional
directors sat down in my sitting room before a brightly burning fire to tell me the
outstanding points in their work. These women are all interesting women with a knowledge
of human nature, a fund of humor, and that very uncommon thing called common sense.
I have known Mrs. Izetta Jewell Miller for a long time, Mrs. Isham, Mrs. Kerr and
Mrs. Ralston are more recent acquaintances, but in their job it is necessary to know
people quickly and they have learned the art of making you feel like an old friend.

The President and Postmaster General Farley with my daughter-in-law, Betsey, and Miss LeHand came over to join us for lunch out on the lawn in the sun. I moved the four ladies,
two by two, during lunch so that the President could hear what they had to tell him
and ask any questions which might come to his mind. The thing which impresses me most
is that we now look on these women's and professional projects from two points of
view—first; are they serving the purpose of helping people to regain their earning
power? second; are the projects themselves contributing to the benefit of the communities
in which they operate?

I broke up the lunch party with difficulty in time to get my ladies off on the 2:44
train. Betsey is leaving for New York this afternoon and there will only be four of us in the house
tonight.